As a social media manager, your goal is to help people manage their social media strategies. However, you’re also running your own business, and it’s important for you to have a solid growth strategy of your own.
Think about it: if you can teach your clients how to grow their business through social media, why shouldn’t you do the same? There are many ways to go about this, but here are 13 ideas that should get you started.
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| Social media managers can overlook significant earning opportunities. |
| Lack of comprehensive monetization strategies might lead to missed earnings. |
| Diversifying revenue streams can help social media managers increase earnings. |
| Continuous learning and adapting to industry trends are essential for success. |
| Effective negotiation and collaboration skills can lead to higher earnings. |
1. Promote Yourself
The reason you shouldn’t be afraid to promote yourself is that it’s a necessity. If you don’t, who will?
Let me ask you this: When was the last time someone told you about a job or opportunity? Chances are, it was someone you know or at least know of. For people to hear about your awesome skills and talents, they have to know who you are first.
And how can they do that if all your efforts are focused on promoting other companies and products instead of yourself?
You may not realize it yet (and if so, I apologize), but your brand is an essential part of any business strategy and should be treated with just as much care as an actual product launch or another high-profile campaign.
And when I say “personal brand,” what I’m referring to is building up your reputation on social media platforms such as LinkedIn so that other professionals in your industry can learn more about who they’re connecting with before making those connections themselves.”
Looking to optimize your social media efforts without breaking the bank? Explore our guide on saving money with social media management services for cost-effective strategies that can enhance your online presence.
2. Use A Paid Scheduling Platform
There are a lot of social media management platforms out there. While some are free, others require a paid subscription. This can be a great investment for your business, as the more expensive ones tend to offer more features and better support.
Some of the paid options include:
- Hootsuite (https://www.hootsuite.com/)
- Sprout Social (https://sproutsocial.com/)
- Agora Pulse (https://agorapulse.com/)
3. Start An Affiliate Program
When you’re ready to start an affiliate program, here are the steps to follow:
Set up your landing page and establish the benefits of joining. You can use the same page as when you were simply advertising your products or services, but make sure it indicates that affiliates will receive payment based on sales they refer.
The more information they have about how their earnings will be calculated and how they can track them, the better.
Find affiliates by reaching out to them directly or posting on social media channels with a call-to-action for interested parties to contact you directly.
If possible, try sending them a sample product before making any commitments so they know exactly what they’ll be selling if they decide to join your program.
Give your affiliates incentives like higher commissions or exclusive offers just for signing up through their referrals although this may come at a cost if there aren’t many people interested in buying from you yet!
This could also help improve conversion rates since customers will know exactly what kind of discounts are available when using an affiliate instead of simply stumbling across one randomly online somewhere else
Curious about the impact of social media management on small businesses? Delve into our insights on why every small business should hire a social media manager to discover how this investment can lead to increased brand awareness and greater revenue.
4. Become A Domain Expert
Social media managers are often experts in a niche topic. If you’re passionate about one, or many, areas of expertise, consider making your blog the hub for all your content.
Have a blog that is relevant to your niche. This can be as simple as setting up a WordPress site and writing posts on topics related to what you do.
Write articles that are relevant to your niche (see “Write Articles” above). If you tend to write about management tips for social media managers, then this should be easy!
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; just keep at it until someone notices how much time and effort you put into creating quality content and offers their services instead of yours for free!
5. Keep Up With Trends
One of the most important things you can do to get noticed is to keep up with trends. Luckily, there are plenty of tools out there that help you do this Google Trends and Buzzsumo are two great examples.
These tools make it easy for you to see what content is performing well in your industry so that you can create similar content or find new topics altogether.
Social media is also a great tool for tracking and promoting trends because it allows you to see what people are talking about right now (and what’s popular over time).
You can use social media as an opportunity to promote your content or other people’s work by sharing it on your channels or just mentioning it in an unrelated tweet or post!
6. Invest In Personal Branding
I know that it’s tempting to think of yourself as a social media manager first, and the rest of your life second. But if you want to earn more money and be a top performer in this industry, you have to take time out of your day to build up a personal brand.
This doesn’t mean posting pictures of cute animals on Instagram or eating pizza while watching Netflix all day it means making sure that others know what makes you special as an expert in your field.
You can do this through blogging, speaking at conferences and events, or writing books.
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7. Use Email To Build Relationships
Email marketing is a great way to build relationships. You can use it to promote your services, your products, or even just your brand.
The most important thing about email marketing is to always be sending out emails when you don’t have anything else to send out.
This will help you stay relevant in the eyes of your customers, who might not remember that they signed up for an email list from you… or even know that they did!
8. Host Webinars
Webinars are a great way to build your community and also one of the best ways to increase your social media presence. They can help you rank higher in search engines, they’re an excellent lead generation tool, and they’re also very easy to promote.
The content on these webinars should be related to something that interests your audience – but it doesn’t have to be salesy or promotional at all!
To host a webinar, get somebody else who has done it before (maybe even someone from client companies) on board with helping you run it. You need somebody who knows how everything works so that they can ensure things go smoothly when recording day comes around.
Once you have them on board, create an account with GoToWebinar (it costs $19/month for up to 500 participants), then start building out the actual event page which will include photos of speakers and details about what each segment will cover during breaks between sessions.
When registering participants, offer incentives such as free eBooks or discounts off future products if people sign up early enough before registration closes off completely.
9. Offer Paid Social Media Consultations To Clients
For example, you might offer a social media consultation service. This is a type of service that people need and want, but which may not be readily available for them to purchase.
Your target audience would likely be businesses who are looking to improve their use of social media or who want help growing their social media presence.
Your solution will be to assess the company’s current state on all relevant platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and provide recommendations based on best practices and/or industry benchmarks.
Then guide them through implementation using your existing knowledge base as well as any other resources they might need.
The time you’ll need to devote per client depends on how many clients you take at once (the more clients you accept at once the higher the potential income).
You could also charge by the hour if this makes sense for the services being delivered (i.e., if there is a lot of back and forth between client and consultant).
The cost will depend on what toolsets are required for delivering said services – perhaps some paid toolsets would make sense here?
Elevate your social media management skills to drive better results for your brand. Our guide on mastering the art of social media management offers actionable tips and strategies to help you optimize your online presence and maximize your earnings.
10. Create Merchandise
Merchandise is a great way to make money. You can sell merchandise with your logo and brand on it at events and through your website, or in a physical store. Merchandise is also known as swag, which is short for “stuff we always get.”
The most popular types of merchandise are t-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs. But you can also create unique items like water bottles or mugs with built-in USB ports that charge phones while people sip their hot drinks! The possibilities are endless!
There are many ways to customize your merchandise:
- You could have different designs available so people can choose which one they want to buy (e.g., unicorn vs rainbow).
- Or you could offer different sizes so people who are taller/shorter than average don’t feel like they’re swimming in a shirt that’s too big or too small.
11. Grow Your Email List
Email is still a powerful marketing tool many people have had success building an email list and sending out promotional content to their audiences.
Email is also one of the best ways to keep in touch with your audience regularly. It’s a great way for you to build relationships with your followers, give them access to exclusive content and offers, or even just keep them up-to-date on what you’re working on.
But don’t forget that email lists are valuable because they allow you to talk directly with people who know about you and care about what you do.
If someone signs up for an email list or follows your brand on social media but never hears from you again, they might think twice about doing business with that company in the future, or worse yet, they may not bother signing up at all!
To grow people’s interest in what I’m doing next month (not just this week), I use tools like BufferApp’s “Schedule” option which allows me to take advantage of different time zones around the world when promoting something new/differentiating my brand(s).
Overwhelmed by the challenges of social media management? Explore our list of 18 ways you can stop the worrying and start effective social media management to gain insights into overcoming common obstacles and achieving success in the digital landscape.
12. Start A Blog
If you’re an aspiring social media manager, there’s one skill in particular that can help your career: blogging.
Blogging is a great way to build an audience and find your voice as a writer. It also gives you valuable practice in writing content for clients and understanding how they want their content to be written.
Plus, it’s free! You don’t have to worry about buying an expensive domain name or paying for hosting services just create an account on WordPress or Medium and start writing!
13. Promote Your Influencer Network Through Your Brand Or Business Platform . . . . . .And More Tips
Social media managers can also use their influencer network to promote their brand and business. For example, an Instagram influencer with a large following might want to promote a new product from the company she works for.
This is similar to how celebrities are paid by brands to wear clothes or use products in photos on social media.
The more followers a celebrity has, the more money he or she can make from these “endorsements” (when someone gives their approval of something).
If you have an influencer with his audience that’s already interested in your brand or service, then it makes sense why social media managers should be partnering up with them!
Conclusion
Social media managers are often stuck in a rut, doing the same old thing and getting the same old results.
But there is so much more opportunity out there than that! We hope this article has given you some tips to break free from those chains and help you start making money in other ways. It might take some time, but we promise it will be worth it.
Further Reading
Common Challenges Faced by Social Media ManagersDiscover the typical hurdles that social media managers encounter and learn strategies to overcome them.
Top 9 Ways Social Media Impacts BusinessesExplore the profound effects that social media can have on businesses, from brand awareness to customer engagement.
The Evolving Landscape of Social Media JobsGain insights into the dynamic world of social media jobs, including trends, skills, and opportunities.
FAQs
What are the common challenges faced by social media managers?
Social media managers often face challenges such as content planning, maintaining engagement, handling negative feedback, and keeping up with platform algorithm changes.
How does social media impact businesses?
Social media can impact businesses by enhancing brand visibility, driving customer engagement, providing platforms for customer service, and influencing purchasing decisions.
What are some key skills for social media managers?
Effective social media managers possess skills like content creation, data analysis, platform expertise, strategic planning, and excellent communication.
How can businesses leverage social media for growth?
Businesses can leverage social media by creating valuable content, engaging with their audience, running targeted advertising campaigns, and using analytics to refine strategies.
What job opportunities are available in the social media field?
The social media field offers roles such as social media manager, content creator, influencer, digital marketer, community manager, and social media analyst, among others.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
